Odds & Ends

Not racing, but..... The Dominion Institute is waging a campaign to have a state funeral when the final living World War I veteran passes. There are three of them left. I first received a 'heads up' on this from our western correspondent Robert K. Rooney. Today, there's a front-page piece on this in the Globe & Mail. This is a great idea and a fitting tribute to all of our veterans who gave so much, so that we can have what we have.

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The Sun Papers' Dean McNulty has a piece on Jeff Gordon saying he's too busy to take part in next August's inaugural Busch Series race in Montreal. (NOTE: Dean's piece says the Montreal race is scheduled for July 21-21.... it's actually the Aug. 4 weekend.)

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According to this story in the Toronto Star, the recent SEMA show in Las Vegas was packed with Canadians showing their wares.

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Even though he's already landed a gig for next summer, Patrick Carpentier has reportedly shown up at Phoenix Int'l Raceway looking to make a connection with a Busch team for next season.

From Paddock Talk: "Patrick Carpentier Looking for NASCAR RideFormer CART/Champ Car and IRL IndyCar driver Patrick Carpentier has been spotted in the Phoenix paddock. Though recently signed to race a full schedule for SAMAX Motorsport's No. 11 CITGO Pontiac Riley Daytona Prototype entry in the Grand American series, Carpentier is still trying to hook up with a NASCAR ride.According to the SportingNews, Carpentier is talking to Busch teams about racing a 'handful of Busch races'. One race of course would be NASCAR's first visit North of the border to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve."

More on Carp. here in this piece on Sporting News.com ""We raced CASCAR (Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) for just one race and I loved it, so we'll see," Carpentier said. "I'd love to do it. If we could do some races in Busch, and with Montreal coming, you know that would be good."

T.O. STAR: Norris McDonald wishes Paul Tracy would grow up

After scratching his head about the admitted drunken golf cart crash that magically morphed into an innocent ATV accident, Norris McDonald's bottom line is that PT's teenage shenanigans are knee-capping his career.

The full story is here.

More IRL testing at Daytona... how long before a race is announced?

INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 10, 2006) – IndyCar Series officials announced today that the League will conduct preseason testing for the first time at Daytona International Speedway Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2007.

In late September, the IndyCar Series completed a successful compatibility test at Daytona International Speedway, featuring past series champions Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, ’02, ’06), Scott Dixon (’03), Tony Kanaan (’04) and Dan Wheldon (’05) and Vitor Meira. The visit allowed IndyCar Series officials to determine the possibility of DIS serving as a preseason testing venue.

Series officials were able to see transitions onto the banking, tire wear/side loads and braking zones while looking for any challenging surface areas on the track. The test took place on the 2.73-mile tri-oval and road course, which included 10 turns.

“Expanding our preseason testing schedule to include Daytona International Speedway is good for both fans and teams,” said John Lewis, vice president of league development for the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series and the Indy Pro Series. “The feedback coming out of the test from our drivers and teams, Firestone, Honda and Ethanol was very positive and supportive of the IndyCar Series pursuing Daytona as a test venue.”

“We are very excited to be able to host pre-season testing for the IndyCar Series here at Daytona,” said Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig. “Bringing another motorsports sanctioning body to Daytona further solidifies us as the World Center of Racing.’ We look forward to welcoming the stars and fans of the IndyCar Series.”
The tentative schedule for pre-season testing is as follows:

Daytona International Speedway
Jan. 30 – Load-in/Set-up Day
Jan. 31 – IndyCar Series Testing (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.)
Feb. 1 – IndyCar Series Testing (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.)

The complete in-season Open Test schedule will be announced in the future.

- From DIS

F1 Look-alikes

The odd time, we do a 'separated at birth' piece in the magazine.
My favourite was Rubens Barrichello and Bill from 'Puppets Who Kill'.

This morning, I was thinking that Heinz-Harald Frentzen looks like David Duchovny.
Seems someone else had that thought first.

There are a whole page of them here.

Another good match for Rubens is Kelsey Grammer (aka Dr. Fraser Crane).

And who knew that Michael Schumacher was separated at birth from Beaker (from the Muppets)?

Pierre Bourque Takes On Another Form Of Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (November 9, 2006) - - Pierre Bourque had a busy 2006 season. Competing in the NASCAR Busch East Series, the CASCAR Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Bourque continues to have the itch to race and gain more experience behind the wheel.

With his oval racing season complete, Bourque is utilizing the rest of the year to get a jumpstart on next year where he will make another racing milestone next February by competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Earlier this week, the Ottawa, Ontario native invaded Daytona International Speedway taking turns behind the wheel of his racecar preparing him for his biggest racing venture yet.

“I am thrilled to be at Daytona, testing for next year’s 24-hour race,” said Bourque. “It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for years and the opportunity finally presented itself with Kevin Buckler’s TRG team.”

Bourque, who finished inside the top-20 in the final NASCAR Busch East Series points added, “The team is first class. They are proven winners. The car is ultra-quick and the track is super fast. Add to that Kevin’s vast experience, a great group of engineers and the generous advice from the team’s other drivers including Andy Lally and RJ Valentine, you have an extremely hard-to-resist package, and I can’t wait for the race.”

His teammates were equally impressed with Bourque’s performance. “Pierre did a great job and we are going to be just fine,” said Lally. He learns quickly and listens to the advice of his peers and that’s a teammate. I’m looking forward to having him on the same side.”

No matter what kind of racecar Bourque grabs track time, he knows that the seat time is crucial. “The two days on track were all about learning about the track, the car and the team. However, my times kept coming down and my speeds kept going up, the end result being that despite being limited in terms of laps because of rain, I am already at a point where I am competitive and I view the whole experience as a huge jump forward for when we come back here for official testing in early January.”

Bourque has secured sponsorship for the 24 Hours of Daytona with the official announcement to be made public at a later date.

As far as his other 2007 racing plans, Bourque is working around-the-clock to lineup his year, which will include the inaugural 2007 NASCAR Busch Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve next August.

“Nothing is set in stone, but I’m working hard to be racing full-time next year,” added Bourque. “This year was a great learning experience for me and I’m thankful for the opportunity that I received. I’m a winner, I want to win next year and that’s my biggest goal.”

For more information on Pierre Bourque, please visit http://www.pierrebourque.com/

For additional input on TRG, please logon to http://www.theracersgroup.com/

###

FROM: Chris Knight, Bourque Racing

IHRA CHANGES GRAND BEND AND NEW HAMPSHIRE DATES FOR 2007

NORWALK, Ohio (November 8, 2006) IHRA has announced a change to the 2007 eMax Nitro Jam" Drag Racing Series schedule. The MOPAR Canadian Nationals at Grand Bend (Ontario) Motorplex will be held July 20 22 and the Amalie Oil North American Nationals at New England (Epping, N.H.) Dragway moves to August 10 12.

The North American Nationals, previously held in September and originally scheduled next year in July, has been moved to August to accommodate an unforeseen conflict for one of the event sponsors.

After releasing the 2007 schedule in October, there became an event conflict with one of our major partners for the North American Nationals, said IHRA vice president of race operations Skooter Peaco. The new weekend in August allows us to avoid conflicts with any other event in the area. It gives the event the full attention in the market, which will be good for everyone.

Originally scheduled the first weekend in June, the MOPAR Canadian Nationals will move to the newly opened July 20 22 weekend.

By moving the event, it not only eliminates the need for race teams to make two back-to-back weekends, but moves the Canadian Nationals to a weekend that historically has experienced much better weather, said Peaco. The team at Grand Bend embraced the idea of moving their event into the peak tourist season and so did our partners at Mopar and Castrol. The Grand Bend area grows from a small town in early June to a booming town in July when beach season is in full swing. Not only will this change put the event in front of more spectators, it will give us better odds at having a great weather weekend.

- From IHRA

Kennington set to drive N.P.P.-sponsored Busch car at Phoenix

EDSON, AB – Canadian race fans will have an opportunity to cheer for one of their own this Saturday (November 11th). In a sport dominated by American drivers, the NASCAR Busch Series will see St. Thomas, Ontario’s DJ (Douglas James) Kennington race for the checkered flag in a Northern Provincial Pipelines Ltd. sponsored Dodge Charger.

“We purchased two race cars outright last month and have since bought a third,” says car owner and major sponsor Dwight Kennedy of Edson based N.P.P., “two of the cars came from Rusty Wallace the other from the Chip Ganassi racing team. We had to pretty them up a bit and then fit DJ into them.”

Kennington made his NASCAR Busch Series debut on October 28th in Memphis, Tennessee and finished a respectable 27th out of a 43 car field.

“We qualified in the middle of the pack (23rd) and finished near the middle of the pack,” indicates the 29 year old driver, “it was a huge confidence builder for all of us.” Kennington, who just completed his 14th year racing on the Cascar stock car circuit in Canada, started racing go-carts at the age of four.

“My goal my whole life has been to race in the States. It was just a matter of a guy like me getting the right breaks at the right time. The phone call from Dwight was one of those huge breaks.”

Northern Provincial Pipelines has been involved with racing south of the border on and off over the years.

“Last year we dipped our foot in the water by putting our name on a truck in the NASCAR Truck Series,” says Kennedy, “this time we decided to jump in with both feet with a race car (BUSCH Series).”

Kennedy is coming off a successful season of his own winning the 2006 N.P.P. Late Model Series and Castrol Raceway track championship in Edmonton.

“I race on the dirt. The plan all along was to hire a driver who is familiar with racing on pavement,” indicates Kennedy, “I needed a driver who has a good head on his shoulders, incredible reflexes and is race smart. I’ve watched DJ race several times and anybody I’ve talked with have told me he’s got what it takes.”

Kennington will familiarize himself on the one mile paved oval track this Friday afternoon before Saturday’s qualify session. The big race goes Saturday afternoon.

ARIZONA TRAVEL 200 – Saturday, November 11th // Qualifying: 10:00AM // Racing: 1:30PM // TELEVISION: NBC (Live) // Radio: XM Satellite

FROM: GORD CRAIG

There were reports that he was gunning for Bourdais at the 19th hole....

From TSN.ca

According to a report in the Toronto Star, Paul Tracy may miss this season's final Champ Car race with a broken right shoulder blade.

Tracy, who currently sits fifth in the standings, suffered the injury while driving a golf cart after he had been drinking in Las Vegas.

"Sorry to say it was self-inflicted,'' Tracy told the Toronto Star. ''I was at a party and had a little too much to drink, and we thought it was a good idea to go out on a golf cart and try and jump some sand dunes with it.''

Tracy told the paper he injured his shoulder when the cart landed on top of him after trying to jump a sand dune.

UPDATE (11/07/06):

So much for PT being a straight shooter... today's version has been sanitized.

''This story has gotten blown way out of proportion,'' Tracy said in a press release. ''Basically what happened is that I was out with some friends playing around with an ATV that I own and it just got a little out of hand, I flipped it over and it landed on top of me. The first three or four days I was making a lot of progress and I thought that I was going to be ok for Mexico. I was doing therapy and some exercises and I think I just overdid it, I just went backwards really fast and the injury got worse.''

How plastered do you have to be to not be able to tell the difference between a golf cart and an ATV?


Lame.